


Another Year

by hoku_mahina



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21888619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoku_mahina/pseuds/hoku_mahina
Summary: Each year is filled with countless adventures, some fluffy, some angsty, but all of them a part of the story. These drabbles are unconnected and focus on an assortment of Marvel characters and pairings.21 drabbles for the 21st birthday of the best human in the world. Happy birthday bun :)
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez, Clint Barton/Laura Barton, James "Bucky" Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov, Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WinterHoneyBunny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterHoneyBunny/gifts).



“Open it,” Wanda encouraged.  
Vision looked between her and the small blue box quizzically.  
“Did I forget about a special occasion?” he asked.  
“No, just open it.”  
With a frustrating amount of caution, Vision gently untied the sparkly bow and pulled back the cardboard flaps.  
“Wanda,” Vision said as he lifted the baby shoes out of the box. “I am aware of most 21st century human customs, but can you confirm that this indicates that you are pregnant?”  
“Yes,” she said with a grin. “But that’s not the only surprise.”  
She pulled out another blue box from behind her back.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve was bound to bore a hole in the old photograph with the way he stared at it. She had been waiting patiently for his response for several minutes now.  
“What does this mean?” he finally asked.  
“It means that I wasn’t born in 1984,” she joked. His eyes grew wide, but he didn’t laugh. He thumbed over her childlike face in the black and white picture. “I understand if you’re angry,” she said more seriously.  
“I’m not,” he answered quickly. “It’s just… hard to wrap my head around.”  
“Well, you did say you wanted someone with shared life experience.”


	3. Chapter 3

Another presence was on Vormir.   
What was once Johann Schmidt turned slowly away from the cliff edge, his tattered cloak billowing around him. Greedy travelers seeking the stone used to be a welcomed respite to the monotony of his existence. Now it just made him weary. The visitor would face a trial they could not fathom, and they would do it in the name of power, in the name of revenge, in the name of love. All useless things.  
The misguided soul appeared around the bend.  
“Steven, son of -” the Red Skull faltered as he locked eyes with Captain America “ - a BITCH.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Nat, where’s Clint?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Why don’t I believe you?”  
She glanced up from her book, her expression perfectly innocent.  
“I’m not sure, Steve, what do you think?”  
He held his hard gaze steady for another six seconds before huffing and leaving the room. That was a new record, he was improving.  
“Thanks, Tasha,” Clint whispered from the vent above her.  
“You’re going to have to face him soon enough,” she said.  
“And admit that I’m the reason his shield ended up at the bottom of the Hudson? Yeah, no. I’ll come out when they tear this building down.”


	5. Chapter 5

It was a dark thoughts kind of day.  
The red around her fingers wouldn’t dim, and she couldn’t stop the ugly memories from flashing through her head. When the bedroom door opened behind her, her whole body tensed, and the red lashed out at the intruder.  
“Wanda,” Vision said evenly. “Are you having a bad day?”  
There was no point in denying it. She felt the bed dip as he sat down behind her. Slowly, so that she could move away if she wanted to, he wrapped his familiar arms around her.  
“I am here. I will keep you safe.”


	6. Chapter 6

“I hate you.”  
Bucky froze with his keys above the basket. Natasha stood near the kitchen, her arms crossed above her rounded stomach.  
“Why is that?”  
“Pancakes,” she hissed. “I spent the last hour and a half making forty damn pancakes.”  
Bucky used every ounce of his training to meet Natasha’s gaze with a straight face.  
“And you hate me because…?”  
“Because your kid is the one that asked for pancakes. They got it from you.”  
With the threat no longer imminent, Bucky dropped his keys and wrapped his arms around her.  
“I can help you eat them.”  
“You better.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Ass!”  
“Idiot.”  
“Douche-canoe.”  
“Butt head!”  
“Son of a bitch.”  
“Motherfu -”  
“Should we stop them?” Bruce asked.  
“No,” Steve said, his voice perfectly calm. “It’s good for them to work out their differences.”  
Bruce buried his hands deeper into his pockets. Steve’s amused smile never wavered as another ping pong ball whizzed past his head.  
“Round thirty two,” Sam demanded as he spun his paddle in his hand. Sweat stained the front of his t-shirt.  
“You’re on, bird-brain,” Bucky challenged. He pushed his hair away from his face and prepared to serve again.  
“Dick.”  
“Prick.”  
“Pig head!”  
“Punk-ass little cu-”  
“Buck!”


	8. Chapter 8

“Mi corazón, tú eres el - no, la - major… mejor cosa haber occur… wait… ha occurido a mi. Mi amor por - para? - tú crecera todas los días, tú eres -”  
“Mack.” He stopped as YoYo placed a finger over his lips. “You know I speak English almost fluently, right?”  
“Yes, but I wanted… Spanish is your native language, and I wanted this to be special.”  
“Oh, mi cariño. This is special because it’s coming from you.”  
He smiled, and his gaze warmed her head to toe.  
“But seriously, can you try again in English? I have no idea what you were saying.”


	9. Chapter 9

It was nearly ten when Natasha got back. The mission had been tedious as hell, but she was home safe and ready to be with her family. She grinned as she walked towards the sound of the TV. Sure enough, there was Steve -   
Snoring on the couch with his shield in his lap. And in that shield, asleep within a nest of blankets, was their son.  
Natasha bit back a laugh. She took a picture with her phone before turning off the TV and the reading lamp. Then she settled onto the couch to finally cuddle up with her boys.


	10. Chapter 10

Once Ned got inside the Parker’s apartment with the spare key, he bee-lined for Peter’s bedroom.   
“Peter, you’re never gonna believe -”  
Peter was hunched over his desk, his hands pressed to his ears and his eyes screwed shut.  
Frantically, Ned looked around, and then tip-toed across the room to pull down the window shade. He unplugged Peter’s alarm clock, powered down his computers, and stuffed a ticking watch into the closet. With the sensory overload dampened, he sat down slowly beside his best friend.  
“Thanks,” Peter whispered.  
Ned gave him a thumbs up and settled back to do some reading.


	11. Chapter 11

A pile of rocks made eye contact with a mass of tree.  
“Korg, this is Groot. Groot, this is Korg.”  
“I am Groot.”  
“Pleased to meet you too, mate.”  
“Now,” Thor said, “if we are to win this battle, we must -”  
“I am Groot.”  
“Yeah mate, that’s a good point.”  
“I am Groot.”  
“And if we take the paint-filled balloons up on the cliff, they won’t see us.”  
“Hold on -”  
“I am Groot.”  
“Got it mate, I’ll see you there. Stay hidden. Pretend to be a tree.”  
Thor stared at his friends as they ran off.  
“What have I done?”


	12. Chapter 12

“Won’t people recognize me?”   
One of Peter’s most guarded secrets was his Spider-Man identity, but now he was suited up and about to enter a convention center swarming with superhero-obsessed fans.  
“Do you know how many people dress as Spider-Man for this?” Michelle said blandly.  
“Uh, no?”  
“It’s a lot. C’mon, you can be you here - all of you - in public. And you get to see how many people love you.”  
“I only really care about one person loving me.”  
MJ rolled her eyes but took his hand anyway.  
“Let’s go, we don’t want to miss the Spider-Person group shot.”


	13. Chapter 13

“Tony, did you lock the car?” Pepper whispered.  
“It’s shut tight in the garage.”  
“Did you lock the front door?”  
“Friday keeps all of our doors locked unless one of us wants to use them”  
“Is the oven off?”  
“I engineered it to turn off when there is nothing in it for more than 5 minutes.”  
She was silent for a full minute. He finally let himself drift towards sleep.  
A crash came from downstairs, followed by panicked beeping.  
“Tony, have you updated DUM-E’s code since the last time Morgan tried to play with him?”  
Tony groaned and went downstairs.


	14. Chapter 14

Rocket the Raccoon and James Buchanan Barnes were having a stare down.  
It wasn’t an official contest, but unofficially whoever backed down first got Bucky’s arm.  
“No,” Bucky said again with the same flat tone.  
“But I need it,” Rocket said. His poker face had gotten better.  
“No,” Bucky repeated.  
This time the raccoon actually looked forlorn. Bucky sighed.  
“You can’t take my arm. But I can help you design a different one.”  
Bucky didn’t know it was possible for raccoons to grin, let alone give fist bumps. Some days this world was still a bit too weird for him.


	15. Chapter 15

“Miles, drink the water.”  
“No, I’m fine.”  
“I’m serious Miles, it’s okay.”  
“I’m serious too, there’s only -” he checked the time “- seven more hours until sunset. I can make it.”  
“Miles,” Kamala repeated, “I’ve been fasting for Ramadan for seven years. I’m used to it. It has a special meaning for me, and I have a whole community to celebrate with. This is your first time fasting for more than, what, however long you sleep? I appreciate the solidarity, but you look ready to pass out. Drink. The. Water.”  
He downed the whole bottle.  
“Better?” Kamala asked.  
“Much,” he said.


	16. Chapter 16

In Tony’s opinion, popsicles were nothing more than water and food coloring. But when he ate them on the back porch, fireflies blinking in the summer night, and his daughter joyfully devouring her own popsicle, they were the sweetest thing in the world.  
“Tell me a story,” Morgan said around her popsicle stick. She had crawled into his lap, and there was a high chance she would fall asleep there soon.   
“What kind of story?”  
“A hero story.”  
“Well,” Tony began after he swallowed his last piece of ice. “There was once a young girl who saved a metal man…”


	17. Chapter 17

Sweat was dripping down Wanda’s back, but bullets still whizzed past her ears. A tendril of her scarlet magic shot out and destroyed three guns just in time for Nat to swing up onto one thug’s shoulders, dislocate the jaw of the second, and fire her stingers to take down the third. Wanda met Nat’s gaze and shared a quick grin before turning to catch a punch in her glowing hand. That baddie got her fingers broken before Wanda used magic to zip-tie her wrists and ankles.  
“Bitch!” the villain of the day spat at her.  
“No,” Wanda said. “Witch.”


	18. Chapter 18

Laura Barton was letting Captain America chase her children. It was quite amusing: Steve would herd them towards the barn, and then Nat would leap out and spray them with the hose. This time, Steve got a hold of the hose and turned it on Nat, which made them all squeal with laughter until Nat pulled out a water gun.  
“When do you think they’ll figure it out?” Laura asked as Clint came up behind her.  
“That they’re in love with each other? Probably about the same time Nat figures out she’s allowed to be.”  
“Leave it to me, then.”


	19. Chapter 19

The ocean was peaceful background noise as Melinda May went through the Christmas cards. The Fitz-Simmons card showed their children grinning in matching pajamas; Mack, Yo-Yo, and Flint held thumbs-up in front of another American landmark; and Daisy sent them a letter. She was excited to visit her and Phil in Florida for the holidays.  
“How are our kids?” Phil asked as he plopped into the other lounge chair.  
“Still not our kids,” May answered. Phil plucked Daisy’s letter out of her hands.  
“She refers to your parents as grandma and grandpa.”  
“Well,” May conceded, “maybe one is our kid.”


	20. Chapter 20

“Young Avengers, suit up!”  
A herd of small children stared back at him.  
“C’mon you guys,” Peter said. “You parents will be back in twenty miuntes, and if you’re not in bed I’m going to be in trouble.”  
“But you get to stay up late!” James complained.  
“Because I’m your babysitter! And I’m older than you!”  
“But we aren’t babies!” Lila exclaimed.  
“Yeah!” Tommy and Billy shouted in unison. “And you’re only a little older!” Billy added.  
Peter sighed. “If you guys get ready for bed right now, I’ll tell you the Ultron story again.”  
The children dashed off immediately.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A double drabble for number 21 :)

It was December 21st, the shortest day of the year. The sun had set three hours ago, but the darkness couldn’t dim the warmth and joy filling the Compound dining room. There was little elbow room around the table, but no one cared. All that mattered was the food, the laughter, and the fact that they were safe and together.  
At the head of the table, Tony stood, his glass in his hand. The conversation quieted down as everyone faced him. He had a whole speech planned, but as he met the gaze of each of his friends and loved ones, he found that, for the first time in his life, he had no words.  
At the opposite end of the table, Steve stood and lifted his own glass. Natasha, seated at his right, stood and toasted as well. Then Pepper and Morgan and Happy. Then Sam, Rhodey, Wanda, Vision, Bruce, Thor, Peter and May, Clint and his family, and all the new faces that had joined them over time.  
He didn’t need words, Tony realized. Words couldn’t encapsulate the appreciation one had for a best friend, let alone an entire found family.  
Tony raised his glass.  
“To another year.”


End file.
